#and a24 obv great

[netflixonyourcouch]

Midsommar (2019)

Midsommar is the latest feature from A24 and Ari Aster (Hereditary).  As a casual fan of horror movies, I really enjoyed Midsommar, and I think it strikes a decent balance of being straight up horrifying while being accessible to newcomers to horror, while also being crafted meticulously enough to satisfy the film nerds.

Spoilers obv. after the jump.

I went into this movie with very little expectations.  The trailer lets you know that this is clearly a cult movie and really that’s all you need to know to get into the mindframe of watching this movie.  We are treated with about 20 minutes of backstory for our protagonists before plunging them into the sun-soaked countryside of Sweden, for a traditional folk festival that they’ll be, ahem, dying to experience LOL.

Bad pun aside, let’s get to the shits.

This movie was absolutely GORGEOUS to look at, and these shots all seem meticulously planned out, framed, and executed.  I mean, even in the opening shots where we are simply zooming in on a house, you can tell great detail was put into that.  Early on, I also loved the center shot of our crew in the apartment and the way the camera flips upside down during their drive into the campgrounds.  There are clearly some scenes filmed with a cameraman walking on foot, and that was cool to see.  Ari also directs some great foreground/background scenes and a little bit of misdirection, where we are obscured from view of the dangers that are lurking outside of the frame.

So while I was taking all of that in, the movie was unfolding in a bit of a slow burn.  This isn’t really your typical horror with a bunch of jump scares.  This is more of a, “we’re going to gradually drag you into hell” sort of the situation.  By the time Midsommar really lays its cards down flat and gives us our first kill, I already knew this film would stand on its own with its peers.  The way that lady’s head splits open and that we’re even *shown* that level of detail of human dismemberment had me and the friends I came with in pure shock.  It continues on from there.

I absolutely love all the performances in this film - especially from its extras, the members of the commune.  They might not have many speaking parts, but their performance during the rituals really helps sell this crazy cult-like nightmare that the film offers (and if I think about it, they do contribute a lot of vocalization to the film).  

If we’re tapping into themes and motifs, I think Midsommar can be saying something about many things.  Certainly there’s this aspect of this shitty relationship and a metaphor about her finally letting go~ near the end, but there’s also musings about what family means and how it’s defined, and about ethnocentrism and how we view other cultures through the cultural lens that’s native to us.  But there’s also enough bold depravity to say fuck it, this is a horror movie, and we’re presenting some fucked up scenarios.  All in all, this movie throws paint at a canvas and the shit sticks.

It’s not going to win awards for scariest movie.  Instead, it’s unnerving, unsettling, grotesque, surreal, and imaginative.  It clings to its style and its toolbox super well while slowly subverting your expectations.  If Wes Anderson directed a horror movie, it’d look like this.  I have nothing but good things to say - go see this movie, but be warned it’s crazy as hell.

[cripplinganxietyflix]

UPDATE - Things I’m keeping an eye on:

Hey all. Thought I’d share the list of movies I’m hoping to see this year. I’m also going to include why I’m interested, unless it’s obv. 

The Blackcoat’s Daughter - April Horror, A24 is distributing.

T2 Trainspotting - April

Logan (don’t hold me to that)

Song to Song Ryan Gosling is hot.

Alien: Covenant - May

It Comes At Night - June Another A24 film. I was really impressed with Joel Edgerton in The Gift, and Trey Edward Shults’ last film Krisha absolutely blew my mind and horrified me. This looks even more scary.

All Eyez on Me - June I’m fascinated. 

The Beguiled - June 

A Ghost Story - June Hi A24. 

Okja- June Joon-ho Bong (Snowpiercer) directing, with Tilda, Paul Dano, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Giancarlo Esposito. 

Baby Driver - August From Edgar Wright. Also- mmmmm... Jon Hamm...

Kingsman: The Golden Circle - September

It - September (I’M NOT SURE YET!) I really hate the miniseries, so I’ll probably wait to see how other people respond to it. 

Blade Runner 2049 - October

The Snowman - October Mmmmm, Michael Fassbender

Mother! - October I really, really, really want to see Darren Aronofsky return in triumph after Noah. I’ve never been so shocked by a great director putting out such an incomprehensible product.

Untitled Cloverfield movie - October

Darkest Hour - November Hoping this’ll scratch my constant WWII itch. 

Suburbicon - November “A home invasion rattles a quiet family town.“ George Clooney directing. Also, mmmmmm, Oscar Isaac. Screenplay by Joel and Ethan Coen.

Star Wars: The Last Jedi - December

Untitled Paul Thomas Anderson project - December Duh. 

Annihilation  Dir. Alex Garland (Ex Machina), starring Oscar Issac and Natalie Portman. “A biologist signs up for a dangerous, secret expedition where the laws of nature don't apply.”

Under the Silver Lake Dir. David Robert Mitchell (It Follows). “Modern noir crime thriller set in Los Angeles,” starring Andrew Garfield. 

Wildlife Dir. Paul Dano (who has starred in Swiss Army Man and Prisoners), starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Carey Mulligan. 

Good Time  From the directors of Heaven Knows What, one of my most favorite fucked up, gritty independent movies about drug users with miserable, horrifying existences. “A bank robber finds himself unable to evade those who are looking for him.”

The Florida Project Dir. Sean Baker (Starlet, Tangerine) starring Willem Dafoe. Looks like Florida Man: The Movie. 

You Were Never Really Here Dir. Lynne Ramsay (We Need to Talk About Kevin, one of my favorite films of all time) starring Joaquin Phoenix. And who could get past a synopsis like this??? “A war veteran's attempt to save a young girl from a sex trafficking ring goes horribly wrong.”

Happy End  Dir. Michael Haneke (Funny Games, Cache, The Piano Teacher) 

Raw The French “cannibal sex movie.”

Kuso  The biggest WTF project: directed by Flying Lotus, with Hannibal Buress, George Clinton, and DAVID FIRTH, the fucking guy that does the Salad Fingers and Burnt Face Man cartoons!

The Disaster Artist  The second biggest WTF project: a movie about Tommy Wiseau and The Room, with a star studded cast led by James Franco. What. The. Fuck.